South African Airways slashes routes

SAA A330-200

South African Airways (SA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) has confirmed that it will reduce the frequencies of six of its regional African routes, reports Tourism Update. The airline last month presented a paper to the government outlining plans to cut 23% of its routes, as it streamlines operations in a bid to stay afloat. The cuts follow on from the exit from SAA's fleet of five wide-body and four narrow-body aircraft.

Flights to Brazzaville, Douala, Kinshasa, Entebbe, Luanda, and Cotonou are affected, with the following adjustments rolling out end-September/early-October:

- Johannesburg O.R. Tambo - Pointe Noire - Brazzaville; from 3x weekly to 1x weekly
- Johannesburg O.R. Tambo - Libreville - Douala; from 3x weekly to 1x weekly
- Johannesburg O.R. Tambo - Kinshasa N'Djili; from 3x weekly to 2x weekly
- Johannesburg O.R. Tambo - Entebbe/Kampala; from 4x weekly to 3x weekly
- Johannesburg O.R. Tambo - Luanda; from 7x weekly to 3x weekly
- Johannesburg O.R. Tambo - Libreville - Cotonou; from 3x weekly to 2x weekly.

However, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) is not pleased about the decision, reports Fin24.

"The airlines plans will inevitably result in job losses and it unilaterally made this decision without consulting any of the trade unions," Numsa said in a statement. The strongly worded statement also accused SAA of protecting its senior officials while ignoring corruption, all at the expense of workers.

"Some of our members have been suspended and dismissed for exposing corrupt tendencies, but they have failed to act against managers who are looting from the airline," the statement reads.

SAA is currently implementing a turnaround plan as it attempts to free itself of debt and government support, however it has failed to meet its revenue targets for three years running.

Source:https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/59757-south-african-airways-slashes-routes-workers-unhappy

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